Hazchem Signage Requirements 2027

A workplace holding more than the placard quantity of any dangerous goods needs a HAZCHEM outer warning placard at its entrances, in red letters at least 100 mm high, and a placard at each tank and each store. Source: WHS Regulations Schedule 13.

That makes it a set of signs, each in its own spot. Victoria and Western Australia set out the same placards in their own Schedule 4.

These are the rules in force going into 2027.

The four kinds of placard

The quantities that trigger each one are on our guide to when you need a dangerous goods placard. The minimum letter and label sizes are on dangerous goods placard sizes.

Where each one goes

• Where it can be read clearly on approach, and away from any sign that says something different
• Inside a building: as close as practicable to the main entrance, and at the entrance to each room or walled section where the goods are kept
• A bulk placard: on or next to each tank or container
• A packaged placard: at each entrance to the storage area
• The HAZCHEM outer warning placard: at every entrance an emergency services organisation may use (in Western Australia, every entrance to the site)

Mixed stores: which class labels go on

A store with several classes in it is where most placards go wrong, and the states do not use the same rule.

• WHS states (NSW, Queensland, SA, Tasmania, ACT, NT): a class label for each category present in at least its placard quantity.
• Victoria: when the mixed total passes the mixed placard quantity, a class label for each class present above half of its own placard quantity. If that gives no label at all, the mixed class label goes up instead.
• Western Australia: when the mixed total passes the placard quantity, a label for each class present, or the mixed classes label.

Combustible liquids kept with fire-risk dangerous goods take a Class 3 label on the placard: in Victoria once the two together pass 1,000 kg or L, and in Western Australia once the combustible liquids pass 1,000 L. Under the WHS regulations, flammable liquids category 4 kept with flammable liquids also take a Class 3 label.

Keeping them right

Placards have to be kept clean, in good repair and not covered up, and changed as soon as practicable when the type or quantity of goods changes enough to need a different one. A store that took on a new class last month may already be showing the wrong placard.

The regulation in each state

The look of each placard is set out in Schedule 13 of the WHS regulations, and in Schedule 4 in Victoria and Western Australia.

The signs themselves

Class placards come in 270 x 270 mm, in aluminium or polypropylene. Bulk storage signs and emergency information panels are made with your wording.

Common questions

What hazchem signs does a workplace need?

Once a placard quantity is passed: a HAZCHEM outer warning placard at each entrance emergency services may use, a placard at each bulk tank or bulk store, and a placard at each store of packaged dangerous goods that needs one.

Where do dangerous goods placards go?

Where they can be read on approach: next to an outside tank or store, and inside a building as close as practicable to the main entrance and at the entrance to each room or walled section where the goods are kept.

When do placards have to be changed?

As soon as practicable after the type or quantity of goods changes enough to need a different placard. They also have to be kept clean, in good repair and not covered.

Figures on this page were checked against the linked sources on 2026-09-29.